Everyone’s favourite party drug, MDMA, is one step closer to being used in the therapy room after an announcement that it will be used in a trial to test on people who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

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The Food and Drug Administration is allowing scientists to test MDMA in Phase 3 clinical trials due to earlier promising results. In the case of PTSD, it has been found that the drug eases patients into lowering their guard (don’t we know it) while being treated with conventional methods such as exposure therapy.

The studies so far, which have been conducted in Canada, the US and Israel, have recruited treatment-resistant patients, which account for around 30-50% of PTSD sufferers. And the results have looked pretty damn good, with some trials having remission rates of up to 80%. Not bad.

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So now further trials will pick up where these tests left off and see how affective this drug is when treating patients with PTSD. This isn’t the first study that had these types of findings – in fact, there have been loads of studies over the years that have discovered the mental health benefits of pure ecstasy. Obviously it raises concerns as the drug, when taken in large doses, can be dangerous. But it appears that in controlled environments, MDMA can be an effective treatment. It will be interesting to see if there are any significant outcomes from this research.

For more on the benefits of MDMA, did you know that it can save your relationship? They don’t call it the love drug for nothing.